Today’s generation knows the addictive nature and necessity of technology, especiallytexting. That irresistible feeling to pick up the phone as soon as it lights up, or the sound of a notification as it rings in your ears. “Just one reply,” you think to yourself, but it turns into a full-fledged conversation, driving you away from the real world and into a virtual vortex of repetitive, futile conversations.

Think about it: you’re at work, and for some reason you can’t reply. SHIT! See, now a panic is building up within you. What will the other person think? Will they assume you’re ignoring them? The desperation to reply drives you up a wall, but you can’t do anything except wait. Finally, your phone is in hand, and you’re ready to reply! You unlock your phone and realize you have missed a lot of “important” messages, and a bunch of people seem angry that you didn’t reply. To that I say, “DON’T FORCE ME TO BE ON MY PHONE.”

Sure, phones have made our lives easier, more efficient, and our communication more effective, but does that mean that if for some twenty odd hours you weren’t able to get to your phone, people should blast you with angry assumption-filled messages? Parents are always saying “get off your phone,” friends are always saying “live in the present”, but the minute you put your phone aside and have some peace with yourself, doesn’t it seem like someone’s out there getting mad at you, because you couldn’t reply to their ever-so-important “Whatsup?” Well I’m sorry. I’m sorry for those of you who conform to this type of social anxiety, because it’s all just a form of social pressure.

In his article for The Guardian Michael Arceneaux said, “I don’t understand why this task is difficult for people. After all, you’re on your phone either way. The way you can scroll through every social media app you’ve downloaded is the same way you can look to ‘messages’ on your phone, read said messages and you know, respond to them.” Well, scrolling through social media is usually a no-brainer, a simple way to pass some time. Would you want someone to reply to you just as indifferently? Aren’t messages supposed to be personal and thought provoked? Don’t you get upset when you get a rushed and impersonal text? Why is there no more patience to wait for a quality response?

Moreover, we tend to constantly meet new people everywhere. So everyone knows a couple people. Let’s do some math: You are trying to do homework, you decide to respond to everyone before you start so that you don’t get distracted and you don’t seem rude. So you reply to all six texts you received. You put your phone aside and open your book. “PING…PING” your phone rings, everyone just replied back within minutes. Now you decide to reply one more time and put your phone away, but the same situation repeats. Now you have an opportunity cost. Study for your grades, or reply to please people. Not everyone can resist the urge and this is where understanding comes into play. Do you neglect things that are necessary to conform to everyone else? How far will that take you in different situations?

Personally, I was addicted to my phone a couple years ago. I would talk to everyone until work started building up and life came around. I couldn’t afford to be distracted by the texts and all the after thoughts that followed each conversation. The use of the phone should never be “stuffed down someone’s throat” as a friend of mine said. It is suffocating for some people, believe it or not. So it's okay to say “don’t force me to be on my phone.”

​​Growing up in the ‘90s, we millennials are known for our nostalgia about things that were around when we were children. A lot has changed since the ‘90s, but here’s a throwback to the past that we all miss so much...

​Remember Tamagotchis? Those handheld digital pets created in Japan became a sensation among millennials practically overnight.

Remember VCRs and VHS tapes?Throwback to a time when DVDs didn’t exist. VHS tapes took up practically all the room on our television stands…not to mention that television sets in the ‘90s were not flat screen. Ordering from Blockbuster was also popular in the ‘90s until online streaming sites like Hulu and Netflix became more popular.​

Remember when CDs and CD players were popular?

​Prior to the iPhone, there was once a time when we carried around CDs and CD players, which we listened to primarily through large headphones.

Remember “Full House”? The TV series with everyone’s favorite family began in the ‘90s. The show was such a huge success that it ran for eight seasons. A sequel to the show was even made early this year called, Fuller House, which features most of the same cast as ‘90s children grew up watching. ​

Remember the flip phone?

​The flip phone began to become popular in the early 2000’s. Phones such as the Nokia or the LG Razor were most popular among middle school aged children.

​Remember Dunkaroos?

A cookie that you could dip in vanilla or chocolate frosting made for the perfect school snack to pack in your lunch box. These snacks, super popular in the ‘90s, are still around today

Remember Beanie Babies?

Beanie Babies were also popular in the ‘90s. The stuffed animals everyone just had to have. If you happened to collect beanie babies, you could be looking at a lot of money in your pocket. Some of the rare beanie babies can cost up to $97,000.

Faster. Faster! Perpetually moving forward whilst accelerating, Generation Z is launched from the base of technology into an atmosphere of infinite information. The entire lexicon of world knowledge rests in the palm of your hand, barring an act of nature that yields a slow Wi-Fi connection. Trampled by the rapid speech at which information is propelled, we have yet to stop and reflect upon the pragmatic ramifications of the technology that surrounds us.

The notion that we are indeed overwhelmed by information is unanimously agreed upon; smart phones are as ubiquitous today as CDs were in the ‘90s. While some have resisted the proliferation of technology, the majority has understandably welcomed it with open arms. (Insert a pithy “ALL the information” meme here). Smart phones have given us the ability to Google anything at a moment’s notice; I can know the details of UN meet​ings as quickly as the stats to Sunday’s football games. It’s simply marvelous!

​"Smart phones have given us the ability to Google anything at a moment’s notice..."

​However, for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. The reaction to rapid information, and subsequently implied rapid absorption, is the psychological state of being overwhelmed. It is simply impossible to adequately process and observe the fathomless quantity of information that is hurled at us; furthermore, the multitude of information makes it difficult to grasp a certain idea and hold onto it. We are perpetually pulled in multiple directions, presented with multiple ideas, at a pace that outruns the human mind.

By: Randall Taylor​​Ahh, the good ol’ days. The days when we could buy a bag of chips, a soda and even some candy just for a dollar or two, when the playground was where we spent most of your days. You know, some of us were chilling out max and relaxing all cool while others were playing baseball or b-ball right after school. You’ll have to excuse me, when I was younger, I always wanted to be a Fresh Prince, or live in a Full House and learn the true meaning of why Family Matters.

Then again, some days I just didn’t wanna go outside. Some days I just stayed inside and read books and daydreaming about Taking trips on a Magic School Bus, Having a Magic Tree House, and even A Series of Unfortunate Events that led to a few Goosebumps here and there. I had a whole library so I guess you could say I’m a Smart Guy.

But still, there’s nothing wrong with relaxing on Saturday mornings right? Come on now, every kid wanted to play in Elmo’s World or hang out with Bert and Ernie on Sesame Street. We can’t forget about having a wonderful day with Arthur can we? Or a few Rugrats before we go mess around in Dexter’s Laboratory or a little sewer surfing with some turtles? Hey I’m just saying Hey Arnold! was All That and I still remember adventures with TJ and the gang during Recess before finishing the day with Doug.

​Ah man those were the days, sorry if I got a little caught up. From the Super Nintendo to the N64, the Sega Genesis to the Dreamcast, Connect Four to Monopoly, Denim Jackets to Leather Jackets and Doc Martens, From Tupac to Biggie to Nas and Snoop, Yo-Yos, Super-Soakers, and Tamagotchis galore. Yeah those were the days, I’m telling you. I’ve got the nostalgic blues wishing I could go back in time to the good ol’ days and be a kid just a little while more.

I recently heard a brilliantly insightful individual (to remain anonymous) express his frustration at the current generation’s lack of understanding as to the true definition of an idea and subsequently, what the commitment entails.

Thinkers from across disciplines and cultures have been grappling with the definition, and continue to do so today. Some of us have come across Plato’s definition in our introduction to philosophy classes; an idea is an abstract or eternally existing pattern or archetype of any kind of thing, and things conceived thereafter are imperfect copies or approximations. Kant went on to define ideas as a priori concepts of reason that denote objects we could never experience or understand. For Hegel, the idea is absolute truth (see W. Wallace The Logic of Hegel 1874). On the other hand, the standard dictionary definition is “a thought or suggestion as to a possible course of action”. The list is fathomless.

So what we see are two different approaches to “idea”: philosophical and colloquial. If we run with the latter for a moment, an idea dictates our course of action; our actions are driven by our thoughts. Think about the last decision you made, big or small; why did you make it?

"Nobody dies for an idea anymore!People don’t know what it meansto commit to an idea”​

Was it arbitrary or can you trace it back to an idea or thought? The way we act, speak, and to a larger extent, live is governed by ideas. Thus, we have to be cognizant when we choose those ideas; the minute we do, we give them the power of influence over ourselves, and those around us.

Within our generation, the significance of committing to ideas has never been more pertinent than it is now. We are faced with decisions that could shape the next 100 years, the next two generations and beyond; the gravity cannot be overemphasized. So then why is our commitment lacking?

It is not that we are unable to understand the definition or gravity; it is that we choose not to understand or care! We actively make decisions but choose not to seek the archetype or pattern; this is our generation’s tragic flaw. We are blindly following copies of ideas instead of the actual ideas and that is why no one is willing to die for an idea anymore. In effect, the blind are leading the blind and both shall fall into the ditch unless we do something about it.

In an attempt to rectify our fallacy, I propose we begin to carefully examine the reasoning behind our decisions; we need to logically trace our thought process to the root, the idea. For those that already do so, you should promulgate your stories to exemplify how ideas ought to be.